A number of patents and published applications teach a drainable ostomy pouch, the walls of which define a narrowed drain chute for draining the pouch contents. The pouch includes an integrated closure system for sealing the pouch closed by rolling or folding the drain chute towards the main body of the pouch. The closure system includes one or more flaps that fold partly around, under or over, the rolled-up drain chute when in its closed configuration, either as a primary or secondary arrangement for retaining the drain chute in the closed configuration. Example patents and published applications include U.S. Published Application US200510131360 and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,825,005, 7,306,581, 6,589,221 and 6,780,172. In the last two of the listed patents, the drain may be folded-up a further time, and the tip tucked behind the skirt edge of a comfort panel to partly conceal the drain.
The provision of one or more flaps may, in some situations, be undesirable. The flaps generally add to complexity of manufacture. Fasteners need to be provided for fastening the flaps in their folded condition. As well as cost, the flaps and the flap fasteners may add undesirably to the material thickness and rigidity when the drain chute is in its closed configuration. A further potential disadvantage is that, while some wearers may desire a secondary retainer arrangement, such as flaps, for the drain chute, other wearers may not desire to use a secondary retainer arrangement. The use of an ostomy pouch represents a highly personal activity, and different wearers have different preferences about how a pouch should be worn and used. However, the provision of security flaps as a secondary retainer more or less obliges the wearer to deploy the secondary retainer, otherwise the unsecured flaps may be uncomfortable for the wearer, and the exposed flap fasteners could catch on the wearer's clothing or undergarments. In order to satisfy all wearers' preferences, different designs of pouch have to be manufactured, those with the security flaps for a secondary retainer arrangement, and those without any secondary retainer arrangement. This increases inventory and manufacturing costs.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,726,667 and 6,887,222 teach similar drainable ostomy pouches without any flap, by using only fasteners provided directly on the face of the pouch wall to hold the drain in its closed configuration. However, such designs of pouches do not provide any integral facility for a secondary retainer should a user desire. Moreover, such pouches highlight a different potential vulnerability, namely that the rolled-up drain is substantially exposed, and is vulnerable to accidental release should an exposed edge of the drain be caught by, for example, the user's clothing or undergarments. Also, a pouch with an exposed drain when in the closed condition may be perceived by some users to be less reliable than a pouch in which the drain is somehow concealed or covered.
The present invention has been devised bearing these issues in mind.